Azerbaijan has agreed to open a $500 million credit line to finance the Rasht-Astara railway project in Iran, said a report.

The Rasht-Astara railway is a section of the Qazvin-Rasht-Astara railway, which is currently under construction, reported Iran Daily citing the Minister of Communications and Information Technology Mahmoud Vaezi.

A groundbreaking ceremony was held recently for the construction of a railway bridge over the Astara River on the Azerbaijani-Iranian border.

Vaezi said the Qazvin-Rasht-Astara railway will link Iran's railway network to that of Azerbaijan. "Iran's section of the railway line is 92 per cent complete and the remaining portion is expected to be laid in the near future," he stated.

The Qazvin-Rasht project is expected to be completed by late 2016, the report said.

The Rasht-Astara railway project is likely to cost $900 million to $1 billion, of which $500 million will be financed through the Azerbaijani loan, it added.